Chapter 6 - Rebuilding the Foundation
With the legal battle moving forward, I made the conscious decision to dismantle my life and rebuild it from the ground up. I stepped down as CEO of Thorne Enterprises, handing over day-to-day operations to a trusted board of directors, and took a permanent leave of absence. My children didn't need a billionaire absentee father; they needed a dad.
We moved out of the glass-and-steel mausoleum of the main estate and relocated to a cozy, sunlit cottage by the coast—a place Sarah and I had visited during our honeymoon.
The transition wasn't easy. Ava still flinched when doors slammed too loudly, and Lucas clung to my leg whenever I walked out of the room. But slowly, patience and unconditional love began to work their magic.
Every morning, I cooked breakfast for them. We spent our afternoons building sandcastles on the beach and chasing seagulls along the shoreline. I learned how to braid Ava’s hair—though it always ended up looking like a crooked bird's nest—and I mastered the art of soothing a teething baby without losing my patience.
One afternoon, while sitting on the porch watching the waves crash against the shore, Ava crawled onto my lap, holding a drawing of stick figures: a tall man, a little girl, a baby, and an angel with a halo over them all.
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"Is Mommy proud of us now, Daddy?" she asked softly.
I kissed her forehead, tears stinging my eyes. "More than you'll ever know, sweetheart. She's watching us right now, and she's the happiest angel in heaven."
